Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a goal directed and future-focused approach to therapy. This type of therapy meets the client where they are (metaphorically) and moves forward with solutions to their current defined problems. A unique strategy of this therapy is the traditional client history gathering is not considered; only the positive solution based discussions are used during sessions.
Therefore, SFBT therapists do not concentrate on problems or their causes. Instead, the Therapist enables the individual to think about hopes and achievements. In SFBT attention is focused on goals rather than obstacles and strengths rather than weaknesses. “Solution-Focused therapists do not make diagnoses, try to promote insight, or analyze the past. Instead they encourage the client to recognize and implement alternatives. They work on the assumption that at the end of any successful psychotherapy, the situation of the client will have changed, so he/he will be doing something different. SFBT therapists start by helping the client think about what that difference would be. Once a solution is identified, client and therapist work toward it step by step.” (Harvard Mental Health Letter)
With that being said questions are a major component of SFBT. These questions are used to support Clients in exploring their preferred futures in addition to exploring when, where, with whom and how pieces of that preferred future are already happening. These questions are categorized as follows:
1) The first being the “miracle question”. The miracle question helps the Client to envision life if she or he had solved the defined problem. 2) Scaling Questions: Having the Client determine on a scale of “the worst their problem has ever been” and “the best things could ever possibly be”. The Therapist is then able to continue with identifying when the problem had been perceived by the Client to be at greatest it’s minimum. 3) Exception Seeking Question: These types of questions support the Therapist along side of the Client to identify times in the Client’s life when this problem was not considered a problem. Which can easily lead a Therapist to encourage Client confidence in positive outcomes. 4) Coping question: designed to elicit information about Client resources that have gone unnoticed. Highlighting a Client’s abilities incorporating positive accomplishments the Client has been able to attain can present an atmosphere of positive focus, which is the basis of this therapy. 5) Problem-free talk: This area of SFBT encourages the Client to be themselves, expressing who they are and what is important to them. The problem-free talk technique, embraces finding the Client’s strengths, which can be a valuable resource in discovering solutions.
Thanks, Laura. In both bachelor's and masters, Insoo Kim Berg and SFBT was our bible. SFBT is adaptable to many situations and can be combined with other techniques. I thought that I would talk about SFBT and Motivational Interviewing because I used to have trouble separating the two. Both are client determined; the solution comes from the clients' strengths. Other therapeutic techniques can be problem solving focused (the solution comes from the therapist rather than the client). Both techniques are meant to be used in shorter-term sessions. More similarities between the two techniques include using coping and scaling questions to solicit where the client is in their change processes. A difference in SFBT and MI is the origins of the technique: SFBT was born in psychotherapy (de Shazer, Insoo Berg) while MI originated in treatment of addictions. Another difference is the use of confrontation as a technique (MI) to elicit change talk-SFBT does not use that technique, but uses questions to tease out clients' strengths/changes they want to make.
This is a good summary. I have been teachong and writing on SFBT for 20 years and I have specialised in the Helping Professions generally. It has been a rich experience and social workers, in particular, have been highly receptive to Solution Focused approached. This, I believe is that in a demanding profession, solution focused thinking – as well as it's proven effectiveness with client – can actiually help avoid burnout and releive stress. It can be fun! I've written an aricle on this: http://www.barrywinbolt.com/brief-therapy-is-more-fun/
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a goal directed and future-focused approach to therapy. This type of therapy meets the client where they are (metaphorically) and moves forward with solutions to their current defined problems. A unique strategy of this therapy is the traditional client history gathering is not considered; only the positive solution based discussions are used during sessions.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, SFBT therapists do not concentrate on problems or their causes. Instead, the Therapist enables the individual to think about hopes and achievements. In SFBT attention is focused on goals rather than obstacles and strengths rather than weaknesses. “Solution-Focused therapists do not make diagnoses, try to promote insight, or analyze the past. Instead they encourage the client to recognize and implement alternatives. They work on the assumption that at the end of any successful psychotherapy, the situation of the client will have changed, so he/he will be doing something different. SFBT therapists start by helping the client think about what that difference would be. Once a solution is identified, client and therapist work toward it step by step.” (Harvard Mental Health Letter)
With that being said questions are a major component of SFBT. These questions are used to support Clients in exploring their preferred futures in addition to exploring when, where, with whom and how pieces of that preferred future are already happening. These questions are categorized as follows:
1) The “miracle question”.
2) Scaling questions
3) Exception seeking questions
4) Coping questions
5) Problem-free talk
Questions:
1) The first being the “miracle question”. The miracle question helps the Client to envision life if she or he had solved the defined problem.
2) Scaling Questions: Having the Client determine on a scale of “the worst their problem has ever been” and “the best things could ever possibly be”. The Therapist is then able to continue with identifying when the problem had been perceived by the Client to be at greatest it’s minimum.
3) Exception Seeking Question: These types of questions support the Therapist along side of the Client to identify times in the Client’s life when this problem was not considered a problem. Which can easily lead a Therapist to encourage Client confidence in positive outcomes.
4) Coping question: designed to elicit information about Client resources that have gone unnoticed. Highlighting a Client’s abilities incorporating positive accomplishments the Client has been able to attain can present an atmosphere of positive focus, which is the basis of this therapy.
5) Problem-free talk: This area of SFBT encourages the Client to be themselves, expressing who they are and what is important to them. The problem-free talk technique, embraces finding the Client’s strengths, which can be a valuable resource in discovering solutions.
Thanks, Laura. In both bachelor's and masters, Insoo Kim Berg and SFBT was our bible. SFBT is adaptable to many situations and can be combined with other techniques.
ReplyDeleteI thought that I would talk about SFBT and Motivational Interviewing because I used to have trouble separating the two. Both are client determined; the solution comes from the clients' strengths. Other therapeutic techniques can be problem solving focused (the solution comes from the therapist rather than the client). Both techniques are meant to be used in shorter-term sessions. More similarities between the two techniques include using coping and scaling questions to solicit where the client is in their change processes.
A difference in SFBT and MI is the origins of the technique: SFBT was born in psychotherapy (de Shazer, Insoo Berg) while MI originated in treatment of addictions. Another difference is the use of confrontation as a technique (MI) to elicit change talk-SFBT does not use that technique, but uses questions to tease out clients' strengths/changes they want to make.
This is a good summary. I have been teachong and writing on SFBT for 20 years and I have specialised in the Helping Professions generally. It has been a rich experience and social workers, in particular, have been highly receptive to Solution Focused approached.
ReplyDeleteThis, I believe is that in a demanding profession, solution focused thinking – as well as it's proven effectiveness with client – can actiually help avoid burnout and releive stress. It can be fun!
I've written an aricle on this: http://www.barrywinbolt.com/brief-therapy-is-more-fun/